Argentinian Vice President Survives Assassination Attempt

Argentinian vice president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner survived an assassination attempt outside her house on Thursday after the gunman’s weapon stalled, according to various news reports.

Fernández de Kirchner was attacked “shortly after 9:00 p.m.” when a gunman pointed a gun at her face from point-blank range as she was exiting her house, video footage of the assassination attempt shows.

The vice president flinched and the assailant was apprehended seconds later.

“Cristina remains alive because, for a reason not yet technically confirmed, the weapon that had five bullets, was not fired despite having been triggered,” Argentinian president Alberto Fernández said in a televised statement.

The gunman, thirty-five-year-old Fernando Andres Sabag Montiel, was swiftly taken into custody, according to Argentinian police. Sabag Montiel was born in Brazil and had been staking out the vice president’s house for days, per local reports.

Fernández de Kirchner served two terms as president from 2007 to 2015 before being sworn in as vice president in 2019. A federal prosecutor ruled in August that she should serve a 12-year prison sentence for corruption charges, and her allies have been rallying outside her home for days, according to CNN.

The country’s president said the assassination attempt was an attack on democracy, declaring that “we must eradicate hate and violence from our media and political discourse.” He declared Friday to be a national holiday for Argentina in support of the vice president and said he had contacted the judge investigating the incident.

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